mother fluttered anxiously on the other. Only Rory and Nick were missing.
Nick let her go and she took her place beside Kim and Allison, two other Piper Point High cheerleaders. The camera flashed. Flash. Flash. Flash. More pictures.
The group broke up and everyone went inside. Champagne poured. A few glasses were downed and Rory started to feel dizzy. She wanted to escape. Before she could, however, Nick caught her around the waist, dragging her onto the dance floor. His face was covered with lipstick marks.
“Aren’t you even going to kiss the groom?” he demanded, half-drunk with delight.
Rory narrowed her eyes at him. “Oh, yeah. That’s what I want to do.”
“Then, c’mere…” he murmured, ignoring her. He bent down and kissed her loudly on the lips. Flash. The photographer caught them at just the right moment.
They danced together, not well, since Rory had never focused her energy on anything other than school. Nick couldn’t have cared less. He was higher than the flag that drifted lazily from the spire above the clubhouse.
The afternoon changed into evening. Rory tried to escape half a dozen times. Tiny white lights, twisted around the upper balconies wrought-iron rail, glowed like fireflies as she made one last attempt to find a few moments alone.
But Nick, ever dogged, found her. He was calmer, quieter, more tired. It was long past the time he and Jenny should have left.
Rory folded her arms across her chest. “What are you still doing here?”
“We’re leaving. Jenny’s saying a few goodbyes. So am I.”
Years afterward Rory would wonder if he meant to sound so final. His quiet words pounded like a club, hurting way down deep in a secret place that Rory had kept well hidden, even from herself. He was shutting a door on all they’d shared. Rory, his “sister”, was being cast aside.
“Then goodbye,” she said lightly, fighting back the tears gathering silently in the corners of her eyes.
“We’ll keep in touch. Pinkie swear.”
She didn’t believe him. Nevertheless, she held up her little finger, and his hooked through it. Then Nick’s arms suddenly surrounded her. He didn’t see her distress, and she would have ducked her head, but his lips found hers. He kissed her again, this time with the kind of bittersweet passion that made her heart ache. Rory responded woodenly, afraid he would discern her feelings if she let go too much. Surfacing, she pushed lightly at his chest and took a step back. “Go be a husband.”
“Goodbye, Rory.” He stared at her a long, long time.
Smiling weakly, she gave him a jaunty salute. It was over. All over. The words “I love you” flitted across her mind but were left unspoken.
It was the poignant end to a beautiful friendship.
DEAR DIARY — NANCY BUSH
Chapter Four
Jacobson & Kern
Spring
Tuesday: 10:00 meeting with owners about possible buyout.
Wednesday: fundraiser plans for Children’s Hospital—9:00 a.m. sharp. Decide on personal donation.
Return Nick Shard’s call… if you have the nerve.
The notes stared at Rory. Scratched out in her own handwriting, they seemed to have acquired a personality of their own. Nick. Rory smiled in disbelief. Apart from an occasional email, she hadn’t heard from him in years. Years. She could scarcely believe that he’d actually called her.
Rory drummed her fingers on the desk, then snatched up her desk phone receiver. She could count her heartbeats, they were suddenly so loud in her ears, but before she had time to wonder at herself, his voicemail came on and she was saved from talking to him.
Now, she re-listened to the message he’d left her. He’d called her work number after hours last night instead of her home phone. She’d been the last person on the planet to get a cell phone, so Nick didn’t have that number.
“Hey, Rory,” Nick’s disembodied voice said. “I’ve been… thinking about you. Give me a call?” And then he left his number. She absentmindedly replaced
Nick let her go and she took her place beside Kim and Allison, two other Piper Point High cheerleaders. The camera flashed. Flash. Flash. Flash. More pictures.
The group broke up and everyone went inside. Champagne poured. A few glasses were downed and Rory started to feel dizzy. She wanted to escape. Before she could, however, Nick caught her around the waist, dragging her onto the dance floor. His face was covered with lipstick marks.
“Aren’t you even going to kiss the groom?” he demanded, half-drunk with delight.
Rory narrowed her eyes at him. “Oh, yeah. That’s what I want to do.”
“Then, c’mere…” he murmured, ignoring her. He bent down and kissed her loudly on the lips. Flash. The photographer caught them at just the right moment.
They danced together, not well, since Rory had never focused her energy on anything other than school. Nick couldn’t have cared less. He was higher than the flag that drifted lazily from the spire above the clubhouse.
The afternoon changed into evening. Rory tried to escape half a dozen times. Tiny white lights, twisted around the upper balconies wrought-iron rail, glowed like fireflies as she made one last attempt to find a few moments alone.
But Nick, ever dogged, found her. He was calmer, quieter, more tired. It was long past the time he and Jenny should have left.
Rory folded her arms across her chest. “What are you still doing here?”
“We’re leaving. Jenny’s saying a few goodbyes. So am I.”
Years afterward Rory would wonder if he meant to sound so final. His quiet words pounded like a club, hurting way down deep in a secret place that Rory had kept well hidden, even from herself. He was shutting a door on all they’d shared. Rory, his “sister”, was being cast aside.
“Then goodbye,” she said lightly, fighting back the tears gathering silently in the corners of her eyes.
“We’ll keep in touch. Pinkie swear.”
She didn’t believe him. Nevertheless, she held up her little finger, and his hooked through it. Then Nick’s arms suddenly surrounded her. He didn’t see her distress, and she would have ducked her head, but his lips found hers. He kissed her again, this time with the kind of bittersweet passion that made her heart ache. Rory responded woodenly, afraid he would discern her feelings if she let go too much. Surfacing, she pushed lightly at his chest and took a step back. “Go be a husband.”
“Goodbye, Rory.” He stared at her a long, long time.
Smiling weakly, she gave him a jaunty salute. It was over. All over. The words “I love you” flitted across her mind but were left unspoken.
It was the poignant end to a beautiful friendship.
DEAR DIARY — NANCY BUSH
Chapter Four
Jacobson & Kern
Spring
Tuesday: 10:00 meeting with owners about possible buyout.
Wednesday: fundraiser plans for Children’s Hospital—9:00 a.m. sharp. Decide on personal donation.
Return Nick Shard’s call… if you have the nerve.
The notes stared at Rory. Scratched out in her own handwriting, they seemed to have acquired a personality of their own. Nick. Rory smiled in disbelief. Apart from an occasional email, she hadn’t heard from him in years. Years. She could scarcely believe that he’d actually called her.
Rory drummed her fingers on the desk, then snatched up her desk phone receiver. She could count her heartbeats, they were suddenly so loud in her ears, but before she had time to wonder at herself, his voicemail came on and she was saved from talking to him.
Now, she re-listened to the message he’d left her. He’d called her work number after hours last night instead of her home phone. She’d been the last person on the planet to get a cell phone, so Nick didn’t have that number.
“Hey, Rory,” Nick’s disembodied voice said. “I’ve been… thinking about you. Give me a call?” And then he left his number. She absentmindedly replaced
Similar Books
